best media center apps for Android
Our smartphones are quickly becoming the center of our media experience. We use them to watch videos, listen to music, view images, and all kinds of other stuff. You can turn any Android device into a media center with a variety of available apps. Here are the best media center apps for Android
AllCast is a streaming app that allows you to stream videos from your phone to your TV. It has support for a variety of platforms, including Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast, Xbox One, some types of smart TVs, and other devices. It works fairly well and it also has support for other types of media aside from video. The free version lets you try it out while the full version gives you all of the features. Additionally, you can turn any Android device into an AllCast device using the AllCast Receiver app. It’s a good start for those looking for media center apps.
BubbleUPnP is another app that you can use to stream your media to your TV. It’s also one of the more solid media center apps. Like other apps in this space, it can stream to a variety of devices including Chromecast along with any device that has DNLA standards. It also supports a number of files types as well, including MKV and FLAC, among others. It also has support for cloud storage and some streaming sites, such as Tidal. The free version gives you a good idea of that this app can do while the paid version gives you unfettered access to the features.
Google Home is an excellent series of home devices. It sits on your countertop and plugs into your TV. It then streams whatever you want. The basic setup requires a Chromecast and your phone. However, you can build out with Google Home devices if you want to. The app keeps everything connected and shows you content on Chromecast-ready video and music apps. It's a bit expensive to get into. On the other hand, millions of people own a Chromecast for a reason and it's because they're awesome. It should be among the best media center apps for sure.
Kodi (formerly XBMC) is one of the few true media center apps in Google Play. It gives the entire home screen a new interface that makes it easier to access video, music, and photos. There are also plugins that you can use to find additional content. You’ll likely want to use this on a larger screen like a tablet or perhaps an Android device that is plugged into your TV via HDMI-out. It’s completely free to download and use. Additionally, it's open source. That means there are some variants of Kodi out there by other developers that do slightly different things.
LocalCast is an app that was originally intended as a streaming app for Chromecasts. It also supports streaming to any DLNA devices that are running on your network. It can stream almost any file, but whether or not it works on your Chromecast depends on its compatibility. Additional features include SMB support, the ability to cast PDFs onto the screen, and some types of subtitles will work as well. It’s a bit more simple than other media center apps, but it’s not a bad way to go if you need something simple. There are both subscription and single price purchases available. Go with the one you want.
Plex is one of the most popular media center apps out there. The app lets you to access your Plex server on your Android device. That means you’ll have to install the Plex server on your own computer so that you can stream from it. Don’t worry, it’s not difficult. You can also subscribe to Plex Pass for additional streaming features. It’s a rock solid app that includes modern features like Android TV support. It’s pretty decent and a good place to start. You will have to either subscribe to Plex Pass or make a one-time purchase to unlock all the features. Thankfully, you have some options there, including both single purchases or recurring subscriptions.
Remote Media Center is one of the unique media center apps. It connects to your PC similarly to Plex. It has a lot of features that you don’t generally see, such as the ability to surf an EPG grid, browse TV channels, and record DVR. This one is generally for HTPC setups rather than a simple TV or streaming stick/box setup. It works best on Windows 7 or 8 although there is a little support for Windows 10. It's something a little different. It can be a little buggy, though.
SPMC is a fork from Kodi. Thus, it looks and acts very similarly to the main app. However, the developer paid special attention to Nvidia Shield TV streaming boxes and a little love for the Amazon Fire Stick. It might have few fixes and extra features from the main Kodi app. Otherwise, they function basically the same way. Those with Nvidia Shield TV devices should look at this version over Kodi. However, most people should probably just use Kodi. Both are completely free.
VLC is one of the most powerful media center apps. It plays video, music, and more. Additionally, it supports network streams. All you need is the link. The app is otherwise clean, functional, simple, and it's everywhere. This is available on Android TV, mobile, desktop, and even several desktop operating systems. Best of all, it's free with no in-app purchases. You could do a lot worse than this one for sure.
Media center apps are a bit of a dying art. These days, more and more media center devices are coming out. That includes Roku, Amazon streaming sticks, and the aforementioned Google streaming solutions. That also includes Android TV, WebOS (on LG TVs), Tizen (on Samsung TVs), and others. They all usually have the same core streaming services along with native apps to play local files via a flash drive. Your best bet is to find something like this and upgrade over time. It's worth noting that Kodi is compatible with most of these types of devices as well.
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